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6 mins ago
Russia and China team up for live-fire naval exercises in waters near Japan
By Brad Lendon
China and Russia will begin a week-long joint live-fire naval exercise in the East China Sea on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, as the two partners step up cooperation in a western Pacific every tense again.
"The active part of the exercise will include joint missile and artillery firing at air targets, artillery firing at sea targets, and the practice of joint anti-submarine actions with practical use of weapons," the Russian statement said.
The maneuvers, called Maritime Cooperation 2022, will include the participation of the flagship of the Russian Pacific Fleet - the missile cruiser Varyag -, a frigate and two corvettes, according to the statement, which added that the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army it will send two destroyers, two patrol boats, a multi-purpose supply ship and a diesel submarine.
Chinese planes will also participate.
"The main objective of the exercise is to strengthen naval cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China and maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," the statement said.
The Chinese military has yet to comment on Moscow's statement.
China has so far refused to outright condemn Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, while stepping up economic aid to its neighbor, boosting bilateral trade to record levels in a boost to Russian businesses amid Western sanctions. .
14 mins ago
Putin claims that Russia is conducting military exercises in Belarus
By Radina Gigova, Uliana Pavlova
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands before their meeting at the Independence Palace in Minsk on December 19, 2022. - *Editor's Note : This image is distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik* (Photo by Konstantin ZAVRAZHIN / SPUTNIK / AFP) / *Editor's note: this image is distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik* (Photo by KONSTANTIN ZAVRAZHIN/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the Russian army is currently conducting military exercises on the territory of Belarus as part of efforts to protect "the security of our countries."
In a speech delivered together with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, Putin stated that Russia and Belarus will continue to cooperate closely in the military field, exchanging and developing military equipment and weapons.
Putin said that "such measures are necessary" because of the tense situation "at the external borders of the Union State [of Russia and Belarus]."
However, both leaders avoided mentioning Ukraine in their public statements.
In a few words, Putin stated that Belarus is Russia's closest ally.
He expected trade between the two countries to reach a record this year, equivalent to US$40 billion.
Lukashenko stated that, despite "some rough edges", Belarus and Russia find answers to all threats;
and he expressed his hope that the West "listens to the voice of reason" so that the security dialogue can resume.
Belarus's role in the conflict
– Russian forces are based in Belarus and used its territory in the initial invasion of Ukraine in February.
But Lukashenko has done everything possible so that Belarusian troops do not participate in Russia's "special military operation".
Russia also has attack aircraft based in Belarus.
Lukashenko also mentioned economic relations, saying that: "Thanks to joint work, Russia and Belarus managed to overcome the possible negative consequences of the pressure of sanctions."
15 mins ago
Ukraine struggles to restore power amid blackouts that last for hours and months
By Tim Lister, Denis Lapin
Shoppers browse items at a market in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Photo: Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Across Ukraine, electrical engineers are waging their daily battle to restore power to homes and public buildings following Russian missile and drone attacks, but they are also facing much longer outages.
In the far north of Ukraine, residents of Tsirkuny in the Kharkiv region have electricity for the first time since the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February.
According to the regional power company, 100 consumers in the town have had power again.
"As a consequence of the hostilities, the damage to power grids and equipment is enormous," the company stated.
"The transformer substations, poles and cables are damaged. The work is also complicated by the large amount of demining work in the territory. We have already replaced two power transformers, which has allowed us to supply the first consumers. We must replace another 10 transformers".
Elsewhere more recent damage is being addressed.
Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Military Administration of the Zaporizhzhiayia region, stated at a briefing that the situation in the region is currently difficult.
"Our electrical engineers have managed to restore basic vital systems. People have hot radiators, water supply, sewage system works. Electricity is supplied as planned," Starukh said.
"Critical issues have been resolved, except for the destroyed infrastructure, which takes time to restore. Equipment needs to be purchased and installed, it will take some time," Starukh said.
The power shortage is compounded by a lack of nuclear generation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, where all six units are out of service.
"They're stuck partly cold and partly hot," Starukh explained.
The plant has been occupied by the Russians since the beginning of March.
Russian officials have repeatedly stated plans to connect the plant to the Russian grid through Crimea.
Earlier this Monday, the state power company Ukrenergo stated that "all through the night, enemy UAVs have been trying to penetrate power facilities across the country."
Several facilities had been hit, he said, with the most difficult situations in the central, eastern and Dnipro regions.
16 mins ago
Moscow says it shot down four US-made missiles over southern Russia
By Anna Chernova, Sebastian Shukla
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov attends a briefing on Russian military action in Ukraine, in Moscow, on March 25, 2022. - The Russian military on March 25 updated its casualties in Ukraine to 1,351 soldiers. , while claiming to have evacuated more than 400,000 civilians and condemning Western arms supplies to Kyiv.
(Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP) (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)
Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday its forces had shot down four US-made anti-radar missiles over a region in southern Russia bordering Ukraine, one of the first such claims by Moscow since it launched the war nine years ago. months.
"Four US 'HARM' anti-radar missiles were shot down in the airspace of the Belgorod region," Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, told his daily press briefing.
The "HARM," a high-speed air-to-surface anti-radiation missile, is designed to "seek and destroy" radar-equipped air defense systems, according to the US Air Force.
Separately, on Sunday, the Belgorod region was shelled, hitting residential and industrial buildings, according to its governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, who said one person had been killed and 10 more injured in the attacks.
"Yesterday was an extremely difficult day. There were shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Gladkov said in a message posted Monday on the Telegram messaging application.
war in ukraine